With two of the most important races of the year on the horizon, the Giro d’Italia Donne and the Tour de France Femmes, the Tour de Suisse’s placement on the calendar makes it an ideal warm-up race for the next big goals. However, now in its sixth edition, with a star-studded list of former winners like Lizzie Deignan, Marlen Reusser, and Demi Vollering, the race has become a prestigious event to win in its own right.
The latter two riders return again in 2025, and they will start the race as the strongest stage racers so far this season. However, they won’t have it all their own way with the reigning Tour champion Kasia Niewiadoma also lining up over a parcours that makes for challenging yet open racing.
Tour de Suisse 2025 Women’s Route
Stage one
The climbing starts straight away at the 2025 Tour de Suisse Women. After a few kilometres rolling out of Gstaad, the riders face the category two Saanenmöser climb and after its descent comes the main challenge of the stage and perhaps the whole race, the Jaun Pass, 8km at 8.4%. Summitting with still 65km to go, it would take a daring rider to launch an attack, but as the race is only four stages long, it may be the best chance for the climbers to assert their dominance over the peloton.
Stage two
Stage two is up and down all day, with a total of over 2,200 metres of elevation gain. The most decisive period will come between 40 and 20km to go, where there are two hard climbs, the Wintermatt (1.7km at 9.5%) and the Menzberg (5.7km at 6.1%), with the latter peaking at 20m to go, 10km of which are descending, meaning it will be a challenge to claw a strong attacker back if they have a gap on the top.
Stage three
Stage three offers the sprinters their best chance of a stage win with its flat finish. However, with over 1,200 metres of climbing, the stage is also ideal for a strong breakaway group to steal victory from the fast finishers.
Stage four
The parcours of the final stage presents the perfect opportunity for a raid on the overall classification. The Michaelskreuz (3.8km at 9.1%) is extremely steep, and only the best climbers will be able to get over it to battle for the stage win 15km later, and with it a good chance at clinching the yellow jersey.
Contenders
Demi Vollering
Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) is the main favourite to take the overall win in this year’s Tour de Suisse Women. The Dutch rider has had an impressive 100% win record at all the stage races she has started this season, winning the Volta Femenina de la Comunitat Valenciana in February, the Vuelta a España Femenina and the Itzulia Women in May, and the Volta a Catalunya earlier in June. The Tour de Suisse is the first time she is lining up outside of Spain for a stage race this season as she gears up for her main goal at the Tour de France Femmes. However, due to the parcours in Switzerland, she will face a tricky task to distance her rivals with no summit finish on which to make a decisive blow. That isn’t to say Vollering isn’t just as dangerous over punchy terrain, but the lack of a fully-fledged queen stage will likely make the Tour de Suisse a more open affair.
Kasia Niewiadoma
The rider who beat Vollering to the 2024 Tour title, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto) is back at the same race she used as one of her warm up race for her successful Grande Boucle challenge last year. She hasn’t quite got into her stride yet this season with fourth at both the Tour of Flanders and La Flèche Wallonne being her best results so far. However, Niewiadoma is a rider who tends to build strongly into her target races and last year — her most successful yet — was no exception, so don’t be surprised to see her competing for the win at the Tour de Suisse this week.
Marlen Reusser
Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) recently won the Vuelta a Burgos in commanding fashion and will be looking to get her second win at her home race. When she won in 2023, she beat Vollering by over a minute, but so far in 2025 at the two stage races she has lined up against the Dutch rider, she has come out second best at Valenciana in February and the Vuelta in May. The lack of a time trial in this year’s race will mean Reusser will have to elsewhere to gain time on the likes of Niewiadoma and Vollering.
Cédrine Kerbaol
EF Education-Oatly’s Cédrine Kerbaol is coming into top form right at the most important period of the year. Her fourth place finish behind Vollering, Reusser and Anna van der Breggen (Team SD Worx-Protime) at the Vuelta showed she is in the shape of her career so far. The French rider is building up to the Tour where she grabbed a stage win and finished sixth overall. The 24-year-old has been building closer to a WorldTour stage race podium on GC and her fourth place at the Vuelta is a sign that that milestone could be just around the corner.
Other contenders
Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) will be in support of Vollering but she has been showing some excellent form lately so could step in if her team leader faltered. Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) has been looking strong in the stage races she has competed in this year and will be supported by a powerful Lidl-Trek squad. While Mavi García (Liv Alula Jayco) and Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) will be hoping to break into the top five on the overall.
Riders looking for stage wins will have their work cut out to beat the GC contenders, but there is a good chance for the likes of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), Mischa Bredewold (Team SD Worx-Protime), Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly), Femke Gerritse (Team SD Worx-Protime), Shirin van Anrooij and Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek).
Prediction
We think Demi Vollering will continue her 2025 stage racing dominance and retain her Tour de Suisse title.
